


Abnormalities

by nargles_exist



Category: Free!
Genre: Banter, Chemistry puns, Don't copy to another site, Drinking, Fluff and Smut, Future Fish but not, Lonely Nagisa, M/M, Nagisa is a Cuddler, POV Alternating, Pick-Up Lines, Poor Social Skills, Rei Talks Dirty (implied), Rei is a Secret Romantic, Rin is Loud, Scientist Ryuugazaki Rei
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-17 09:43:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16972248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nargles_exist/pseuds/nargles_exist
Summary: Rei is tasked with finding study participants as a part of his scientific research career, and he happens upon the perfect specimen in a bar. Nagisa is perfectly willing to be studied, thoroughly and intensely, and demands Rei's personal attention.





	Abnormalities

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written for the Reigisa Gift Exchange on Tumblr. This is the first fic I've ever published, so be gentle.

This was an abnormality. 

Rei could count the times he had visited a crowded bar and only use the fingers of one hand. 

Of course, he wouldn't have to use his fingers; his near perfect marks in all of his math classes could attest to that. Statistics had always been his favorite, and he loved analyzing data. So it seemed like a perfect match when he was accepted into a prestigious graduate research program. The only problem was…. Field research.

Being the underling, he was often sent out on the undesirable task of persuading volunteers to participate in various studies. Most were relatively easy experiments, and the research subjects only had to fill out a series of surveys, or do a combination of actions and then answer questions about them afterwards. So, finding volunteers wasn't especially difficult. Except… Well… a lot of scientists would rather be surrounded by data than people and prefer to talk to their equipment instead of other humans.

Rei was among that group. He was fine around his friends, but he got all sweaty and tongue-tied and awkward around strangers. So he put it off. And it lingered in the back of his mind, a hulking and heavy thought that just got bigger and bigger until he couldn't ignore it anymore, and he broke down and did it.

Rinse. And repeat.

And so here he was, dragged here by his friend, who had promised him that alcohol would be the perfect social lubricant to make his job easier.

It was… loud. And there were people everywhere. And he was squashed into the corner booth, feeling very awkwardly like a fifth wheel, sandwiched between two socially lubricated and affectionate couples. He glared at Rin, who had neglected to mention this would be a group outing. Rei was starting to think this was less of a “friend helping out with work” situation and more of a “trick Rei into being social” situation. All evidence was currently pointing towards that conclusion, to be _quite_ honest. 

When Rin finally extracted his tongue from his boyfriend's tonsils and sent the bigger man off to fetch some drinks, he noticed Rei's glower. “Oi grouchass, nobody's gonna wanna be in your experiment if you look at ‘em like that!” Laughing at his own dubious wit, he threw an arm around Rei.

“Hmph, I think this is a waste of time, and I--”

“No, no,” interrupted Rin, pressing his hand over Rei's mouth and preventing a diatribe. “Look, hey, Kisumi! You'll let Rei experiment on you, right?”

Sly violet eyes looked him over suggestively, and Rei blushed at the wink, despite knowing it was just a harmless flirt with no intention behind it. “Sure,” said Kisumi. “It won't be the first time I've been an experiment.” He patted Asahi's hand where it rested against his chest and looked at him affectionately. 

“Turns out… I liked it,” grinned Asahi. 

“See!” exclaimed Rin, triumphantly. “That's one volunteer, and Asahi will do it if Kisumi does, and I’ll do it, and I can get Sousuke to do it, so that's four volunteers already!”

“How many do you need?” asked Asahi.

“Twenty-five,” replied Rei, sourly.

“Well, you better drink up then!” Rin plucked a cocktail of the tray Sousuke had returned with, and he pushed it into Rei's hand.

The deep pink-red of the liquid sloshed over the side and onto his hand, but there were no napkins to be found, so Rei reluctantly licked it away. He found it surprisingly pleasant, the sting of alcohol muted by the sweet fruit syrup, but there was enough of a tang to keep it from being tooth-rotting.

It disappeared quickly. 

Even so, Rei was still on his second drink, and both Kisumi and Rin had drunk two or three times as much (at least). Rei was laughing so much that he was only upright with the help of the table and Asahi's arm. Kisumi lay half across the table, arguing with Rin over who had more charisma and charm, and their “evidence” was getting more and more outlandish. There was no end to this argument, obviously, and no one ever won.

It was Sousuke, surprisingly, who spoke up and proposed a method to end the conversation. Whichever one of them could convince the most people to sign up for Rei's project was officially the winner.

It took a moment for Rei's sloshy brain to catch up to the new turn of events, and by then, both Rin and Kisumi had snatched some of his packets and dashed off. Well, tripped and wobbled off. Alarmed, Rei climbed over Asahi and struggled after them. “No one too drunk!” he protested. “They need to know what they're agreeing to!” Ethically, it was probably wrong for the participants to be any degree of drunk when they signed up, but that sounded like a problem for Tomorrow Rei. 

He awkwardly flitted between the two men, trying to oversee what was his assignment after all, as well as being a visual presence (The Scientist™) to show that this was a real project and not a bar joke. Kisumi was behind for now, but while Rin had more “yes”s, he also had more “no”s. Kisumi seemed to take the long conversation approach, and he was taking an awful long time to get to the point. Rei’s attention was wandering.

“...and I swear, Mako-chan, I haven't slept more than five hours a night in the past week!”

Despite the complaint, the voice was upbeat and cheery, and it seemed to be carrying from down at the other end of the bar. Rei craned his neck, trying to spot the owner of the voice, but all he could see was the back of a blond head. That complaint happened to tie right in with the study! Maybe the complainer would be a good volunteer! Encouraged, he weaved his way through the people to approach the other man, reaching him just as he pushed an empty glass toward the bartender. “Needs more cherries this time.”

“Excuse me,” said Rei, tapping the blond on the shoulder. His carefully prepared pitch died in his throat, and he choked a little as he got his first good look at the man. 

He was an _angel_.

His blond curls framed a sweetly expressive face: beautiful wide eyes, arching cheekbones, and plump lips currently turned down in a pout. Even the pout looked sweet. He perched on the edge of his barstool, legs hooked around the rungs, and somehow the explosion of color in his outfit seemed to suit him perfectly.

Rei was staring.

“Yes?” asked the angel.

“Grk,” said Rei, still choking. 

An eyebrow arched, and the tiny pout turned into a frown. “Look, I don't think--”

“Can I experiment on you??” Rei blurted. He had no idea where that came from, but he could sense the impending rejection, and apparently his brain decided that saying anything was better than nothing. 

“....You… what?”

“I'm sorry!” he exclaimed, clapping a hand over his mouth.

***

This was an abnormality. 

Not being in a bar; Nagisa had been to this bar in particular dozens of times. His friend was the bartender here, and he could usually get a couple of free drinks. Lately, though, he had been feeling a little bit over the bar scene. It was fun, sure, and it gave his self esteem a big boost when he got picked up, but it didn't last past the next morning. He got no satisfaction out of one-night-stands, and he knew that, objectively, but he had very little resistance when he was drunk and being complimented… so he avoided temptation and stayed away.

He was here tonight for the first time in months. And it was only because his housemate was out of town, and the house was horribly, crushingly empty. He wasn't feeling real sexy, though, and Mako-chan was leaving the alcohol out of Nagisa's drinks, and he really wasn't looking for a hookup, but… he had been feeling awfully lonely lately. What he needed was something long term. A boyfriend would be nice. Or even just a platonic friend who had time to hang out and wasn’t working all the time. 

Sighing, he ate another cherry and took advantage of Makoto's fleeting attention to complain about the terribleness of his week.

A hand on his shoulder had him turning, mentally preparing himself for a smooth pickup line and a lot of leering. But… the man he found instead was flustered and awkward, with rumpled hair and glasses and a dazed expression. Huh. Was there something wrong with him? Did he need like, a doctor or something? Or, more likely, he was just some kind of pervert. Nagisa was about to tell him off and send him on his way, but the outburst was so startling, he didn't immediately comprehend what had been said.

Hmm. Pervert seemed to be the winner. Momentarily speechless (an unusual state for Nagisa), he watched the strange man rapidly turn bright red and cover his mouth, as though that would contain any more words, and… Nagisa couldn't help it. He laughed.

This guy was just so adorably awkward, and he looked incredibly cute with that mortified blush. A real pervert wouldn't be so embarrassed about his perviness, right? Leaning back against the bar, Nagisa smirked at the man. “Okay, I admit it, that's not a line I've heard before.”

“I'll just go,” mumbled the flustered man. 

“No, I wanna know more about this experiment you have planned for me.” Nagisa couldn't help teasing him. This was the most interesting interaction he’d had in at least a week. Weird, and he was making sure Makoto was still within earshot, in case Mr. Awkward turned out to be Mr. Pervert after all, but he was distracted from his misery.

“Don't be shy now. Not after that bold beginning,” he said, grinning, and he reached out to take hold of the man's arm and pull him closer. 

“Oh, er…” If possible, the man looked even more frazzled at the contact. “I didn't… It wasn't a line.”

“Um…” Nagisa hastily let go of the man. He _actually_ wanted to do experiments on him?

“No, no!” he protested, waving his hands desperately. “I didn't mean it like it sounded. Look, I'm… I'm trying to find research subjects for a study I'm assisting with, and I overheard you talking, and it sounded like you'd be a good subject, but I didn't expect you to be so… so…” The word vomit trailed off suddenly. 

“So what?” prompted Nagisa.

“So beautiful.”

“Oh.” Nagisa smiled and turned to hide his blush. He had been called a lot of things by men in bars, but never _beautiful_. And this guy was so earnest in the way he said it, no underlying motive whatsoever. “What's your name?” he demanded suddenly, needing to know.

“Er, it's Rei. Ryuugazaki Rei.”

“Let's go find a table Rei-chan,” suggested Nagisa, hopping down from the barstool and resuming his grip on Rei's arm. 

“Rei-chan?” he questioned, not resisting as he was pulled through the crowd toward a tiny table for two in the corner. 

“You don't like it?”

He flushed again. “It...it's fine. Um, what do I call you?”

Grinning, Nagisa pushed him down in a chair and replied: “Nagisa.”

***

Very slowly, Rei relaxed and became a rational human being once more. He was not good at talking to people, especially good-looking people. He got all flustered and blurted out strange things and embarrassed himself completely. But… something about Nagisa calmed him down. It wasn't like Nagisa was a particularly calm or soothing person--he was animated and loud and prone to sudden gestures. Rei couldn't explain it, but instead of spiraling down into a pit of mortification, he was somehow able to keep the embarrassment to a minimum. Not none, as that would be impossible, even for an angel like Nagisa to achieve, but he didn't feel like he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him. Progress.

Maybe it was the fact that Nagisa didn't seem to feel awkward. When Rei said something embarrassing, his aura of humiliation tended to sour the whole atmosphere, but Nagisa just laughed it off. And it wasn't a cruel laugh, but one that somehow made it seem like Rei's absurd blurty responses were some kind of private joke between them. It was comforting. And it helped him get over his anxiety. He wondered if Nagisa had that effect on everyone, and he tried to ignore the irrational spike of jealousy at the thought of this lovely man talking so earnestly with anyone else. 

He had no reason to be jealous. After all, they barely knew each other. 

The more they talked, though, the more he wanted to know Nagisa. Conversation flowed easily, mostly because of Nagisa's storytelling skill. But Rei added a few of his own, even some lab stories that made him blush. It was worth it to hear Nagisa laugh. 

He was so expressive. Rei could listen to him for hours.

Leaning in close to hear better (the only reason, shush), Rei's expression was far too happy for the tale of how Nagisa dropped out of his college program. 

“It just got to the point that I was always studying and working on school stuff, and I was so stressed out I couldn't hardly sleep, and… one day I realized that I didn't even like the idea of being an astronaut anymore. Like, if I still had the dream and the passion, I could fight through the stress, but if I didn't even have something I wanted at the end then… what was the point? So I dropped out.”

“That was… brave,” said Rei.

“Or stupid,” laughed Nagisa. “I had no backup plan.”

“Still,” insisted Rei. “I don't think I could have made that choice. To start over.” Just the thought of it was terrifying.

“A couple of friends helped me out for a while,” Nagisa continued. “But now I have a great job! At the zoo! I love it, and next year I'm going back to school to study animal behavior.” Resting his chin in his hand, he sighed happily. “I'm not looking forward to the stress and papers and assignments again, but I think it'll be different this time. Plus,” he added, popping up right suddenly. “My roommate is already in the program, a year ahead of me! So I have, like, inside information already!”

“You have a roommate?” Rei didn't mean to sound so surprised. For some reason, he had imagined Nagisa living alone.

“Well, housemate, really. We have our own rooms!” He laughed again. “Don't worry Rei-chan, he's not my boyfriend!”

Rei blushed. Was he that obvious? Probably.

“I like living with him, though. It gets lonely when I'm on my own.”

“I'm on my own a lot,” blurted Rei, flush deepening when Nagisa's eyes met his. “I mean… I know the feeling.”

“Hmm,” Nagisa said, shifting his chair closer to Rei. Their knees were touching, and Rei thought that if his body temperature climbed any higher, he might spontaneously combust. He didn't say anything else, just studied Rei with a small smile.

Slightly nervous under the scrutiny, Rei asked, “Hmm?”

“I'm just trying to decide,” mused Nagisa, “whether I'm enjoying this so much because I'm actually into you or because I've been lonely lately.” 

Rei felt like holding his breath awaiting the verdict. His knuckles were white where he gripped the table. “And?” he asked, after a long tense moment. Either way, he would take it, honestly, but he hoped Nagisa returned the interest he was feeling. 

“Well I think it's the first one,” he smirked, “but maybe a little of both. Shame you're not trying to pick me up.” The tip of his shoe ran teasingly up the inside of Rei's calf. 

“Is it?” His voice came out very strangled, which made Nagisa’s smirk widen into a grin.

“Mmhmm. Do you want to reconsider your earlier position?”

Rei would reconsider his position on anything right now, preferably starting with his position on this chair. He shifted a little and then regretfully replied, “I… I don't know any pick up lines. I'm not very good at talking to strangers. You might have noticed.” His smile was small and self-deprecating. 

“Oh, silly Rei-chan,” sighed Nagisa, somehow moving even closer. “We're not strangers anymore.”

Mesmerized, Rei watched the way Nagisa's pale eyelashes gleamed in the low light as they softly brushed his cheeks. “I…” He stopped to lick his dry lips. “I don't know what to say.”

“Just kiss me.”

***

He was in a public bar, he had to remind himself. He absolutely could NOT spread himself backwards on this little table and beg this sweet dork to fuck him. It was bad enough that he was grinding down on him and shuddering every time Rei's mouth returned to that spot under his jaw that he found amazingly quickly. 

At least he knew the desire was mutual. For one thing, he was sitting directly on Rei's lap and could feel his arousal. And once he got Rei to kiss him, it was like something in the man broke, and Nagisa was delighted at the aggressive side that had emerged. 

The kiss had started out soft and exploratory but quickly passed into something more demanding. He had been leaned forward, bracing his hands on Rei's knees, but that was not close enough for either of them. Nagisa was very willing to be dragged out of his chair and onto Rei, his thighs snug against Rei's hipbones and held there insistently by Rei's hands. Nagisa moaned softly, his fingers twisting in Rei's dark hair. He was _so_ into Rei. 

“Rei-chan,” he gasped, head lolling back as Rei's tongue dipped into the valley of his collarbone. “We need to go-- _oh fuck, Rei_ \--we need to go somewhere else.” The heat burning through him was destroying his rational insistence that he wasn't going to get fucked here in the bar.

He dragged Rei's face away from his neck and admired the flush and dark, glazed eyes that looked back at him. Moaning again, he had to go in for another deep kiss. “Outside,” he gasped, pressing his forehead against Rei's. “Let's get some air.”

It was about seven kisses later before he could convince his legs to let go of Rei's waist, and he wobbled toward the exit with weak knees. He gave Makoto a little wave, ignoring the concerned look he got in return. His hand was clamped around Rei's wrist, leading the other man outside, and it was clear what their intentions were. This was different, which he would explain to Mako-chan later, because he wasn't drunk and going home with some creep. He was completely sober, and Rei was… different.

The cold air felt amazing on his flushed face, and he took a deep breath. He hadn't even been drinking, but he could feel his head clearing, the heat and stuffiness of the bar dissipating. He turned to look at Rei, wondering if it was just the atmosphere that had affected him so much. He couldn't help but laugh at how disheveled Rei looked. Nagisa's fingers had pulled the strands of Rei's hair in all directions, his shirt was partially unbuttoned, and his glasses were crooked on his nose. 

Nagisa found it… charming? 

The urgency had abated, but he couldn't help but pull the poor man down the block and into a tiny alleyway. He yanked at Rei's shirt until the man bent down low enough for Nagisa to kiss him again. Definitely not just the bar atmosphere.

He gasped as Rei lifted him, pressing him firmly against the wall, and he immediately wrapped his legs around Rei's waist, clinging tightly to him. "Rei-chan," he panted, moaning as Rei sucked a bruise at the junction of his neck and shoulder. "Rei, Rei..." He managed to get the other man to pause again, resting their foreheads together and cupping his face with both hands. "I want you."

Rei licked his lips and looked a bit crazed, his hands gripping Nagisa's hips tighter. "Here?"

"No!" Nagisa giggled. "Not here! My place is a lot more comfortable," he added, rolling his body in a slow grind against Rei. "And only a ten minute cab ride from here."

"Fuck," said Rei, clenching his eyes closed for a moment. "Yeah."

Nagisa unhooked his legs and slid down Rei's body, still clutching him and leaning against him. "Now it's _my_ turn to be the scientist," he purred, his tone at odds with his actions, as he rebuttoned the gaping shirt front, hiding away the delicious expanse of chest. "I plan to study you very thoroughly."

***

He honestly couldn't have said how they managed to get from the little alley to the backseat of a cab. Nagisa was a whirlwind, and Rei's head was spinning with the speed with which things were progressing. In his few previous trysts, there had been a lot more time between meeting and kissing and going home with someone… Strangely, though, he wasn't panicking. He felt a little bit reckless, but he liked Nagisa, and he _wanted_ to go home with him. He kind of wanted to go home with him every day, but he definitely shouldn't be thinking about things like that this soon. 

"Rei-chan?" 

Nagisa was curled up against him in the backseat, both of his hands wrapped around Rei's arm. A sense of propriety dictated that they put the making out on hold while in the cab, but Nagisa was still nearly in his lap. 

"Yeah?"

"You're a scientist, right? How would you rate our chemistry?" 

Glancing down, he could see the mischievous glint in Nagisa's eye despite the darkness. He blinked, trying to think of a clever way to answer. After a moment, he gave up and admitted, "Sorry, I can't come up with chemistry puns while I'm still a little drunk and thinking about you naked."

Nagisa had to practically shove his fist into his mouth to muffle the shriek of laughter at that statement. "Rei-chan! Naughty..."

Rei shrugged, unapologetically. 

"Well," he continued, letting his fingers trail along the top of Rei's thigh, "would you say that we'll be a hot flame and burn up quickly? Or more of a… long-lasting sort of reaction?" He wasn't looking at Rei now. 

Rei was just glad that Nagisa was even thinking of a long-lasting option, especially given his earlier thoughts along the same lines. His voice was a lot quieter and gentler when he spoke again. "I think I could see myself bonding to you for a long time."

Then he replayed that sentence and panicked. "No! I mean… like chemical bonds, not like marriage bonds. Not that I wouldn't--I mean..." He trailed off in mortification and smacked his palm up to his forehead. 

"Rei-chan, you're such a dork." 

Cracking his eyes open, he looked down to see a fond smile on Nagisa's lovely face, and he calmed down slightly as Nagisa snuggled back into his side. 

That lasted for about ten seconds, until Nagisa spoke again.

"I don't think we should get married too soon. We should probably have a long engagement and see how things go."

Rei pinched him.

***

As soon as the door closed behind them, Nagisa practically threw himself into Rei's arms, and he felt absolutely no shame about it. He had waited long enough, and he was not patient. Fortunately, Rei seemed to be just as eager as he was, and his back was pressed into the wall of the entryway, Rei's body solid against him. Nagisa's fingers immediately started working on undoing the buttons of Rei's shirt again so that he could dip in and explore the skin of his torso. Then he found a ticklish spot and Rei almost dropped him. Both of them shrieked a little, and then they were laughing uncontrollably, and Nagisa slid back down to the floor. "Ticklish, hm? I'll have to put that in my report."

He pulled Rei insistently to his bedroom, flopping right back onto the unmade bed and pulling Rei on top of him. He sighed happily as Rei's hips settled between his spread thighs, pleased with the weight on top of him. His growing lust was warring with the desire to lay there and slowly make out forever, but Rei's shirt disappearing heavily shifted things firmly into lust zone. 

Nagisa's body arched up, trying to keep as much contact between them as possible while their clothes were slowly peeled away. "Fuck," he muttered as their erections bumped together, and he managed to get a hand loosely wrapped around both of them and stroked a few times before he was gently rolled over onto his stomach. 

"I..." There was a grunt as Rei's cock slid against his ass, and Nagisa moaned in response. He was so ready. A moment later, the breathy voice returned to his ear and started again, "I assume you have lube?" 

"Mmmmm, under the bed," directed Nagisa, lazily. "And condoms." He was content to have Rei do all the work for him. But he did shift his knees under him a little so that his ass was more accessible. 

He heard the click of the cap, and then there were fingers pressing against him, spreading the lube before pushing inside insistently. He was a little surprised at how sure and confident the movements were. Especially since the last view he had of Rei had been a flushed mess with hair sticking out in all directions, glasses nearly sliding off his nose, and a sheen of sweat covering him. He wasn't awkward and fumbling now, though, preparing Nagisa efficiently and thoroughly. He hadn't properly appreciated Rei's long, elegant fingers before in the bar, but oh, he could definitely appreciate them now. 

Nagisa moaned. "More, Rei."

Rei's fingers pumped inside him, and his weight settled back onto him. His lips creeped up the side of Nagisa's neck, and that's when Nagisa got his other pleasant surprise. 

Rei was a talker. He was breathing hard, and it was almost like he couldn't help but babble softly into Nagisa's ear. Nagisa loved it, and he was somehow even more turned on than before. His moans increased in pitch and frequency, unable to coherently form words with Rei's fingers in his ass and the litany of filthy words in his ears. He was barely able to coherently form thoughts at this point.

"You ready for my cock, baby?"

"Yes!" he gasped. "Yes, yes, Rei."

The fingers were removed, and Rei was rolling him onto his back again, and then… oh, God, yes. Rei was so right: his cock fit so perfectly in Nagisa's pretty ass, filled him up so so good. He barely had time to appreciate it before Rei was pulling out and thrusting back in, setting a fast rhythm. His angle was perfect, and Nagisa was not going to last very long. "Oh, fuck, right there, Rei!" moaned Nagisa, clinging to him desperately. 

"Like I don't know that," smirked Rei, smugly. It would have been more impressive if his glasses hadn't chosen that moment to fall off, but Nagisa just knocked them aside and dragged Rei down for some heated (albeit sloppy) kisses. 

It wasn't much longer before Nagisa was coming, his muscles spasming and clenching down hard as pleasure overwhelmed him. Only a few more hard thrusts, and Rei was coming too, his face pressed into Nagisa's shoulder. His low moan was muffled, but it sounded something like "...gisaaaa". 

Nagisa was pretty content to just flop where he lay and ride the drifty post-orgasmic haze, grunting a little as Rei pulled out, but returning to sleepy happiness when Rei settled next to him. A minute or two later, though, he was alarmed to feel the bed shifting. Rei was getting up. His arm shot out to grab at Rei, eyes flying open as he burst out: "Stay."

Rei's hand was gentle as it smoothed the hair off of Nagisa's forehead, and he leaned over the bed to give him a soft kiss. "I just thought we should get cleaned up a little first. Before we fall asleep." 

"Okay," mumbled Nagisa, somewhat appeased. He was feeling a little sticky, come to think of it. "The bathroom is at the end of the hall." His eyes drifted closed again, opening when he felt a washcloth gently but firmly cleaning his stomach. "Thanks, Rei-chan." He took the cloth and swiped it between his thighs carelessly, dropping it over the edge of the bed onto the floor when he was done. Rei helped him drag the blankets back onto the bed, and they both slipped under them. 

Nagisa waited patiently for a moment or two, but Rei made no move to snuggle him, lying somewhat stiffly on the other side of the bed. With a huff, he scooted over and picked up Rei's arm, snuggling under it and throwing a leg over his thighs. His face fit perfectly under Rei's chin, in his opinion, and he nuzzled in and got comfortable. After a few seconds, he could feel Rei relax, and his arms came up around Nagisa, embracing him securely. Perfect.

***

He was gloriously exhausted, and he would love to just lie here and snooze with Nagisa, but he had to pee so badly he was about to burst. 

Getting up in the middle of the night in someone else's home was something of a challenge, but Rei did know the location of the bathroom, so that was something. More complicated, however, was escaping the smothering embrace of his lover, as well as getting across the room without tripping on something and hurting himself. The whimper as he prised Nagisa's arms from around him had him leaning back down to press a kiss to his forehead and mumble promises to be right back.

Feeling around, he located his glasses on the floor, as well as his boxers and cell phone. He used the light on his phone to navigate through the bedroom and into the hall. As he turned on the bathroom light, he got a look at his phone and noticed that there was a massive amount of unread messages. What… Oh. Peeing first. 

Once relieved of his excess urine, he squinted down at his phone, scrolling through about forty texts from Rin, and he slowly realized that he hadn't actually told anyone he was leaving last night. He had kind of been caught up in Nagisa, and he honestly forgot that he had even come to that bar with a group. 

He sent back a guilty, very-late response that he was fine, no need to worry. It was past three in the morning, and he was not expecting a reply, so it was extra surprising when his phone started to vibrate with an incoming call. He nearly dropped it in shock, but he fumbled around and managed to answer. "Hello?" he answered, quietly. 

"REI WHAT THE FUCK??" Rin's voice was so loud that Rei had to take the phone away from his ear for his own auricular safety. "WHERE ARE YOU?? WE WERE ABOUT TO CALL THE POLICE!!!"

"We were not." He could faintly hear the rational voice of Sousuke behind Rin's hysteria.

"WELL I WAS! WE WENT AROUND TO YOUR APARTMENT EVEN, AND YOU WEREN'T THERE!"

"Oh, er..." Rei was not awake enough for this, and the bright light of the bathroom combined with the volume of Rin's voice was giving him a headache. "Sorry, I--"

"WERE YOU KIDNAPPED? ARE THEY LISTENING TO YOUR SIDE OF THE CONVERSATION?? SAY THE CODEWORD IF YOU NEED RESCUING."

"Um, first of all, we did not arrange a codeword ahead of time, so I have no idea what to tell you. And I'm not kidnapped. I just forgot to tell you I was leaving."

"WHAT--"

"RIN STOP YELLING!" shouted Sousuke in the background.

With a strangled upset grunt, Rin returned to a reasonable speaking volume. "Well, we checked to see if you went home, so where are you then?"

"Er..." Rei hesitated. 

A shuffling noise made him turn, and he saw Nagisa blinking up at him sleepily, the blanket from the bed wrapped around him like a toga. "Rei-channnn," he whined. "What are you doingggg? Come back to bed." His pout was extremely cute, and if it wasn't for the gasp in Rei's ear, he would have picked up Nagisa and carried him back to bed and covered him in kisses. 

"REI-CHAN??" Great, Rin was back to yelling.

Muffling the phone against his chest, he smiled at Nagisa, saying, "Sorry, I'm coming. I just… forgot to tell my friends I was leaving, and they were worried." 

Nagisa snorted and turned to shuffle back into his bedroom. 

Rei was tempted to just hang up on Rin, but that would probably make it worse later, so with a sigh, he lifted the phone to his ear again. 

"...can't believe you made us all worry like that, and you were out getting laid! Aren't you the same Rei who lectured me like a hundred times about not going home with strangers??"

"He's not a stranger!" Rei protested.

"Who is he then? Do I know him?" 

"He's… my soulmate." 

There was silence on the other end of the phone, and Rei thought he should probably be embarrassed about blurting something like that out. He was, a little bit, but he also felt like it was true. 

"Wooooow," said Rin, finally. "Not only did Rei go home with a stranger and get laid, he's also admitting the existence of soulmates?? Now I'm a little concerned that you've been abducted by aliens or something." There was a hint of teasing in his voice, however, and Rei sighed in relief, happy that Rin wasn't ridiculing his romantic ideas, new ones that he hadn't fully explored yet. "Fine. I accept that you're not kidnapped, but don't think I'm letting you off the hook for this. I need to meet this guy--your _soulmate_ \--and see if he is worthy of you."

"Maybe," said Rei, firmly. He wasn't committing to anything without talking to Nagisa. Besides, aside from flirty comments, they hadn't even talked about whether or not they were going to continue to see each other, and he certainly wasn't planning on scaring Nagisa off by introducing him to Rin right away. "I gotta go now."

"Oh, yes, back to bed. Goodnight, _Rei-chan_."

"I hate you." He hung up.

He made his way back to the bedroom and stopped in the doorway. Nagisa had made a cocoon out of the blanket, and only a few stray blond curls were visible. Rei peeled up one corner of the blanket and worked his way inside, spooning up behind Nagisa and tucking the blanket around himself. It was extremely cozy, and he could feel Nagisa sigh and relax back into him. His thoughts swirled back around to what he had told Rin a few moments before, and he couldn't help but add one more mental tally to the 'Yes' columns of the 'Is Nagisa my soulmate?' debate he was having with himself. It was just… so easy to be comfortable with him. 

Abruptly, he realized Nagisa was mumbling something. "What?"

"Mmm." He shifted slightly in Rei's arms so that his face was less buried in the blanket. "Did you get your friends all reassured?"

"Mostly." He paused. "Well, they're a little concerned that I've been abducted by aliens… cuz… I don't do this very often." Even though it was dark, he could feel his face getting hotter in a blush.

"Valid. I _have_ been studying you, remember?"

"And what are the results?" 

"Oh no, there's definitely more study needed. I couldn't possibly publish results after one encounter."

Rei smiled against the side of Nagisa's head. "Ah. I wouldn't want to rush you." He squeezed Nagisa a little. "...just to be clear, we're talking about dating, right?"

"Yes, Rei-chan, you big dork."

"A dork you're dating."

"Shhhhhh, stop talking. My boyfriend needs his beauty sleep."

Rei shifted again so that he could kiss Nagisa gently. 

Sometimes it took an abnormality in the data to find a life-changing discovery.


End file.
